Armed school attack drills unfortunate, but necessary

A new law requiring school drills that prepare students for an attack by armed intruders is an unfortunate, but necessary, sign of the times.

The sad truth is that teachers and students, however young, must know what to do to protect themselves in such an unthinkable situation.

These drills, which have been added to the standard school fire drills, have been in place since 1999, after the fatal shootings at Colombine High School in Littleton, Colo. More states have been enacting legislation mandating such drills in the wake of the 2012 shooting at a Newtown, Conn., school that left 20 young children and six adults dead.

The Louisiana legislation, authored by state Rep. Bob Hensgens, R-Gueydan, requires that drills take place within 30 days of the beginning of each school year. It also requires that classroom doors with locks approved by the state fire marshal remain locked during instructional time.

Planning the drills, which are set to begin this fall, has been put in the hands of local school superintendents and principals.

Lafayette Parish School System already has a crisis management plan that has been reviewed by local law enforcement officials, said Bradley Cruice, director of health and wellness for LPSS.

The drills prepare teachers and students not only for armed attacks, but for other unexpected emergency situations, Cruice said. Rehearsing procedures helps everyone remember what to do in a crisis, but the drills also help school personnel figure out whether the plans they have on paper would work in a real emergency, he said.

And while they are rare, these situations can and do happen without warning.

While there have been no incidents that involve active shooters in the area, students and staff at the now-closed Creswell Elementary in Opelousas had a chance to put lockdown protocols into action in 2010 when a man fleeing police took refuge in the attic crawl space of the school's main building.

Students remained safely in lockdown until he was apprehended by police who were searching the campus.

It's true that drills can help make lockdown procedures more orderly and can hold down panic. But in recent years, as drills in some parts of the country become more realistic, an important question is being considered. How realistic should the drills be?

In an Illinois high school, faculty acted out a scenario with the "intruder" firing blanks with a starter pistol, according to a report in the Huffington Post.

In a Hudson Falls, N.Y., school, police in body armor walked the halls with unloaded weapons.

An Oregan school was the target of a surprise drill featuring masked shooters who burst into the building.

But are such extreme drills necessary? Some experts say the touch of realism enhances the exercise, but many say it is too much.

Amanda Nickerson, co-author of a 2007 study on lockdown drills that do not use guns or other props, said in the Huffington Post report she does not believe extreme drills are necessary and could produce anxiety in students, rather than the sense of security drills are supposed to engender.

She's probably right. Seeing an armed gunman force his way into a classroom could have a traumatic effect on younger children, even if they know about the drill in advance.

No such extreme drills will take place in Lafayette Parish, Cruice said.

Preparing for the worst-case scenario is nothing new. Students of the Cold War years were taught to "duck and cover" - hide under their desks in the event of a nuclear attack.

And while an atomic bomb would undoubtedly have caused greater destruction, it somehow seemed farther away. The threat of an armed gunman on campus seems more personal, more immediate.

Being prepared for that terrifying possibility is a good thing. Knowing what to do and practicing it, so it becomes second nature could help to save lives.

It is somewhat reassuring that local schools will be preparing students for a possible attack. But it's a shame that they have to.

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Armed school attack drills unfortunate, but necessary

A new law requiring school drills that prepare students for an attack by armed intruders is an unfortunate, but necessary, sign of the times.